The Drug Treatment and Education Fund
Program

In November 1996, Arizona voters approved Proposition 200, enacted into law as the Drug Medicalization, Prevention and Control Act, Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) 13-901.01. The Act provides diversion of non-violent first and second time drug offenders from prison to probation and drug education and treatment. The purpose is to provide alternatives to incarceration for substance abusing offenders by providing community supervision and appropriate treatment so they may be prevented from committing further substance abuse related crimes. Another benefit of the Act is cost-savings by reducing incarceration costs. The Drug Treatment and Education Fund (DTEF) Program, which receives revenue from a tax on liquor, was established as a result of the Act to provide treatment services to eligible offenders. In November 2002, the Act was amended (Proposition 302) to allow courts to revoke the DTEF probationers’ term and sentence them to prison.

The Administrative Office of the Courts is mandated to prepare an accountability report annually that details the cost savings realized from the DTEF for diversion of persons from prison to probation. A process and impact evaluation was commissioned by the AOC to supplement their mandated reporting. LeCroy and Milligan Associates were awarded the contract to implement the evaluation.

Overall Goal and Scope of Evaluation: The ultimate goal of this project is to conduct a process and impact evaluation of the 15 DTEF programs in Arizona, describing the current continuum of care service delivery system of DTEF, and its outcomes (e.g. treatment and probation success.) Data collection will be conducted on the 15 DTEF programs implemented by each of the Arizona county probation programs. A complex design will be implemented and analysis of program outcomes will be conducted.

Variations among counties will be documented to assess relevant factors that may affect the implementation and impacts of the DTEF continuum of care program. The information generated from examining these components will provide recommendations for program improvements.